Orange smoke flares in honor of Max Verstappen, punishment fireworks for his desperate hunters: Formula 1 world champion Verstappen continues to set the standards at will.
The Dutchman won the emotionally charged Red Bull home game in Spielberg on Sunday (July 2nd, 2023) in front of 40,000 euphoric compatriots with the perfect balance of gas foot and feeling – while numerous opponents were not only overwhelmed with the champion, but also with adhering to the track limits were.
With his seventh win of the season and fifth win on his favorite track in Austria, Verstappen extended his lead in the World Championship over his team-mate Sergio Perez to an impressive 81 points. The Mexican failed in qualifying for the fourth time in a row, and from 15th on the grid he was at least able to work his way up to third place. Second was last year’s winner Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari.
Red Bull up front in every race of the season
After the 42nd Formula 1 victory of the 25-year-old Verstappen, Red Bull remains unbeaten in nine races of the season and two sprints. Only McLaren with the legendary driver duo Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost had started even more successfully in 1988. But the 35-year-old mark of eleven victories seems achievable for Verstappen and Red Bull in this condition.
The home win is also emotionally significant for the team, which returned to “his” track for the first time since the death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz. “We drive to make him proud. We come here to win,” said Verstappen in advance.
Track Limits big topic
The world championship dominator won the start, even though the two Ferraris behind him tried everything. After lap 24, Verstappen came into the pits for the first tire change – and that broke his unbelievable lead after 248 laps. But Verstappen immediately turned by far the fastest laps with new tires, before halfway through the race he regained the lead from Leclerc and never relinquished it.
As expected, the track limits were a big topic. Especially record world champion Lewis Hamilton had a hard time keeping his Mercedes within the white lines. “We know that the car is bad. Please just drive it,” team boss Toto Wolff radioed to his frustrated star, who only finished seventh. After just 17 of the 71 laps, he received a five-second time penalty. About half a dozen drivers did the same.
Hulkenberg retires early
For Nico Hülkenberg the race was already over after 13 laps, the driver from Emmerich parked his Haas because of a technical problem. It was the first retirement of the season for the 35-year-old, who had brilliantly finished sixth in the sprint on Saturday. “It suddenly went bang,” said Hulkenberg on Sky. A total of 304,000 fans flocked to the track during the Spielberg days. And the party at the popular Alpine Grand Prix can go on for a while: Before the race, Formula 1 announced the early extension of the contract with the Styrian circuit until 2030.
But there were also a few dark clouds over the Austrian Grand Prix, the death of Dutch motorsport talent Dilano van’t Hoff in Spa on Saturday also affected many people in Formula 1 and reignited the safety debate in motorsport. Before the start in Spielberg, the 18-year-old was given a minute of silence. The drivers wore a black ribbon.